Daily Archives: August 9, 2010

by | August 9, 2010 · 11:30 PM

Reflection: Solutions Coming Soon


With Congress digressing on most of its policy issues to focus on the political world, which means feeding its egos, it is important for people to keep their eyes on the ball. The U.S. is still in a tough economic situation. The federal government has granted aid to states, but more still needs to be done. Gates is slashing much of the Pentagon’s budget, but more needs to be done. Afghanistan and Iraq are being built up, but more needs to be done.

It is always important to remember that just because a policy passes does not mean that it will solve all the problems. It requires good enforcement and public administration to make sure that the project gets done. Solutions take time to implement. My last post was on Rwanda, a country that more than 15 years ago was in the trance of genocidal politics. Now, it is growing economically because of international help and domestic progression. Change takes time. It is a sad truth, but a vital one to recognize.

When people go to the polls in November they should focus on a couple of things:

1. Longterm vs. Short Term: Many of the programs proposed by the Obama administration are not quick fix programs. Most of them are structural change programs or longterm funding programs that take time.

2. Trade-Offs: I talked about state aid that was approved by the House today. This aid was important, but it cut food stamp programs sadly. When people listen to deficit hawks remember this: anything that is cut from the federal budget will mean that states and muncipalities will lose funding for a particular program. That is way I am very much against cutting deficit spending now. The deficit does need to reigned in at some point, but not at this point in the recovery process.

Time is of the essence in economic recovery. That is not a simple or good answer for those who are unemployed, but it is a hard truth.

To sum up my posts today:

1. Solutions was my theme today
2. I talked about dissecting arguments for political show
3. “Interesting Things and Independent Ideas” came out today
4. I discussed how state aid programs from the federal government are necessary
5. Gates will cut the defense budget by 10% which is a start
6. Rwanda is becoming a stronger country – a lesson for us all

Well, today was a great one, I hope! Thanks for reading my blog become a follower on this site if have not already. I leave you now with the lawyer from the Prop 8 trial, Ted Olson taking down Chris Wallace – at least in my opinion.

Photo Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_thinking_mood_1931.jpg

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Filed under foreign policy, local politics, Obama, reflection

by | · 10:45 PM

Rwanda: Miracle of Africa

Rwanda is undergoing an election. The president is Paul Kagame, who has basically led the country since the 1994 genocide. Some have called Rwanda a miracle of Africa because since that point they have been able to make economic strides. Kagame is expected to win reelection by a landslide. The Voice of America reported:

Rwandans will choose one of four candidates to lead the small central African nation for the next seven years. Nobody expects current President Paul Kagame, however, to receive much of a challenge. Mr. Kagame has effectively ruled the country since taking power with the Rwandan Patriotic Front after the 1994 genocide. He is credited with quickly rebuilding the country, fighting corruption and attracting international investment.

Several organizations have complained that the opposition has been silenced and even a seperation of Hutu and Tutsi is a problem that has never gone away. The economic gains of the country are a bit surprising as BBC notes:

Growth exceeded 5% in the five years since 2001, driven by coffee and tea exports and expanding tourism; poverty is widespread and Rwanda is highly dependent on aid

Will Rwanda be the next South Africa, most likely not. It has been able to bring many of those responsible for the genocide to justice, gained economically, and held somewhat fair and free elections multiple times. I would say that is not doing bad.

Sources:

VOA
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Rwandans-Vote-in-Controversial-Presidential-Poll-100268614.html

BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1070265.stm

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Filed under foreign affairs, power walk, Rwanda

by | · 10:00 PM

Gates Follows Through!


I was a bit skeptical of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that he was not going to be able to perform the military cuts that he thought were necessary. I praise Secretary Gates for performing this action. As for the specific cuts, the New York Times reports

the Defense Department should try to cut at least 50 general and admiral posts and 150 senior civilian positions over the next two years.

The most pronounced change, in terms of the number of jobs to be eliminated in one blow, was his plan to close the military’s Joint Forces Command, in Norfolk, Va.

The command includes about 2,800 military and civilian positions supported by 3,000 contractors at an annual cost of $240 million.

Times Continued:

Mr. Gates, a carryover from the Bush administration, has already canceled or trimmed several dozen weapons programs, with long-term savings predicted at $330 billion. Now he is looking for complementary cuts across the Defense Department’s civilian and military bureaucracies, the overseas headquarters and their operating costs.

The goal is to convert as much as 2 percent or 3 percent of spending from “tail” to “tooth” — military slang for support services and combat forces

Finally:

Over all, Mr. Gates has ordered the armed services and the Pentagon’s agencies to find $100 billion in spending cuts and efficiencies over the next five years: $7 billion for 2012, growing to $37 billion annually by 2016.

So, what does this all mean for the Pentagon and defense spending in general.

1. Stops the Sacred Cow: For years, the defense budget has been treated as a fund that must not be touched, when in fact it is one of the most bloated. It is a symbolic effort, at the very least, that Secreatary Gates is serious about cutting spending.

2. Centralizes and Streamlines: What someone will notice is that certain central commands, like the one in Virginia, are going to be closed down. This will allow for a more centralized command structure, which I predict will probably help intelligence.

3. Makes the U.S. Look Serious about Arms Reduction: This year, the U.S. signed the START treaty with Russia which cuts the amount of nuclear weapons and missiles. This cut shows that the U.S. is ready to get serious in other areas like weapons cuts.

The goal is to reduce spending by 10% for contracting work and other defense work. The problem will be political wrangling from Congress, especially from congressional districts that employ workers for a base. War hawks will also complain that money should not be cut during a war, but this is mostly contracting work. Also, Obama has increased the defense budget by 2.2% over Bush since he has been in office, so it is not a total victory for the doves just yet.

Source:

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/us/10gates.html

Photo Credit: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hqcXuKannTX_7n023YQ9kAYbeF5gD9HG6BI80

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Filed under defense, politics, power walk

by | · 8:35 PM

Afternoon Delight: Surviving a Political Scandal

This is a funny chart from Slate about surviving a political scandal.

Source:

Slate
http://www.slate.com/id/2262939/

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Filed under afternoon delight, political scandals, power walk

by | · 7:45 PM

The Local Level and Economic Trade-offs


I have made this point several times when talking about the need for more stimulus. The House plans to pass a state aid bill that will increase spending in education and Medicare benefits as well as other large programs. CQ states:

The legislation proposes $10 billion in aid to states to prevent layoffs of teachers and other public employees and $16.1 billion in Medicaid help to the states.

To pay for that spending, cuts were proposed for several programs popular with Democrats, including food stamps and a renewable-energy loan initiative.

Now, it is important to give aid to states. What most people often miss in the stimulus debate is that the money from the federal government goes to state and local projects, like keeping schools open and roads paved. States must balance their budgets, the federal government does not. This means that states will have to cut crucial programs unless they find ways to receive aid. That means when you cut spending it actually hurts local programs. Economist Paul Krugman put it this way in his column this morning:

It’s crucial to keep state and local government in mind when you hear people ranting about runaway government spending under President Obama. Yes, the federal government is spending more, although not as much as you might think. But state and local governments are cutting back. And if you add them together, it turns out that the only big spending increases have been in safety-net programs like unemployment insurance, which have soared in cost thanks to the severity of the slump.

That is, for all the talk of a failed stimulus, if you look at government spending as a whole you see hardly any stimulus at all. And with federal spending now trailing off, while big state and local cutbacks continue, we’re going into reverse.

What must be considered though is the specific cut. When money is being used to pay for a program ususally that means another cut somewhere else. In this case food stamps. Congress needs to be careful when they cut certain programs that cut hurt other aid programs. It is important to save jobs, but it is also important to save current aid programs like food stamps. Blogger Ezra Klein puts it this way:

Farm subsidies are an enormous waste of money, for instance, but they serve a politically powerful constituency. Food stamps don’t, or at least they don’t serve a constituency powerful enough to prevent this cut.

Farm subsidies or other types of subsidies might a better choice in the long run for trade offs. In this economy, nothing is sacred though.

Sources:

CQ Politics
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1&docID=cqmidday-000003720628

Paul Krugman Column
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09krugman.html?ref=todayspaper

Ezra Klein on Food Stamps
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/food_stamps_contd.html

Photo Credit: http://dearkitty.blogsome.com/2009/04/04/world-economic-crisis-continuing/

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Filed under economic policy, local politics, power walk